I am please to say that most of the first batch of InstaGlamTops were sold the first week. The rest are available, including a few, special one-of-a-kind editions in the shop now. Grab one before it’s gone forever. Vintage Chiffon cannot be replicated!

I am excited to have found a perfect alchemy of comfort, style, and fit-for-most design. I am in the process of working out more designs for my upcoming hemp collection. If you missed the InstaGlamTop Look Book, you can view that here.

I’m going to “get all Oprah on you” for a moment and say that “What I know for sure” is this:

Arguing for your limitations is never helpful.

The expansion of my soul, my life, my opportunities is never ending joy!

That being said, the Swankety Swank Re-brand Hemp Collection Project is in progress. Like an oversize St. Honoré cake, it’s a plan of grand scale and epic goodness. While that’s cooking, I have something fun and helpful debuting this Thursday, July 16 12-7pm at Annie’s Trunk in the Yerba Buena District of San Francisco.

I just completed the creation of several technical custom messenger bags.

While working on these, I remembered how I started sewing seriously by making bags over 12 years ago. Today I celebrate some of those creations with my love of vintage and recycled fabrics and here is a sampling of the thousands I have fabricated and sold over these years.

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This was my room about 10 years ago- bag overkill?

Who am I kidding? I still have this much baggage. May your bags be fun and functional always! xxooYabette

As I work towards my re-branding project with art and fashion at Swankety Swank, every day brings another joyous step in the progression of its fruition. As a believer in creating what you want, rather than banging the drum of what’s wrong, I am making a new fashion story with a line I intend to launch this September 2015. This came to me through my epic trip through the states and Europe last fall in 2014, and has led me through 6 months of research, business plan writing, meetings in LA, SF, Ohio, and New York as I lay the groundwork. Two close friends of mine individually sent me articles relating to the focus of my structure: integrity and fun.

My translation of integrity in fashion is with sustainability and transparency. In this article by Colleen Kane for Fortune Magazine “Who Made Your Clothes? A ‘Slow Fashion’ Revolution Rises” she says, “The movement calls for accountability through all steps in the clothes-making process — it’s the fashion world’s answer to the Slow Food movement.” The fun for me is in the creative process of building this accountability from the ground up as it feels so aligned in my soul purpose. The details of that will be revealed later, but it’s a constant joyous excitement to see the pieces of this fall into place. I like that she cites today’sFashion Revolution Day for participants to take photos of themselves with hashtags like the one above of yours truly in Amsterdam wearing an outfit I sewed from recycled and vintage fabric.

Another major factor in my integrity story is in the use of hemp and organic blend fabrics for mass production that is made in the USA. The benefits of the hemp plant are so great, that it’s outrageously ludicrous that we don’t have a hemp crop in every farm across this American land. As stated in this informative article “Hemp – The Ultimate Cash Crop, Health Food and Environmental Savior Rolled Into One” by Carolanne Wright, “The American founding fathers knew a good thing when they saw it, which is why each of them actively grew hemp on their own land.”

Hemp Silk & Hemp/Organic cotton

The joy in hemp is the fact that it feels really good and looks so luscious!! When I hold up my new samples for my androgynous line of hemp silk and hemp/organic cotton next to the low quality, fast fashion that is still unfortunately in my wardrobe, the comparison is in stark contrast. THIS fuels my “create what you want” ethos and I march onward!

May you find your joy and take a step towards it every day! xxoo Yabette

My favorite tarot card is the queen of wands and I love this Cosmic Tribe depiction of her by artist Stevee Postman, on my life planning book cover that was collaged by Storm Arcana. I like to live my life as The Queen of Wands, who possesses enormous creative power and energy, with the ability to destroy what does not work, making room for the creation of what does. My numerology life lesson is the sun card and I know that depicting life in full optimism is my constant mission. Sometimes this comes easier than others, as controlling my circumstances is impossible. Continue reading →

The shows coming up this Spring for my work, have me in super busy bee mode, and I will announce the details soon. Before that, I have several floral oil paintings in the shop available now at my best price offer until mid April.

While this framed watercolor, “Musing in Layers” is sold, I can do commissions like it, just message me.

“Musing in Layers” watercolor 18×24″ by Yabette

But I have beautiful blooming oil paintings available right now on stretched canvas, ready-to-hang in your home or office. I have never offered my original oil paintings at these prices, so take advantage of this limited time offer.

The Miracle Happens 18″ square oil by Yabette

White butterflies are my personal symbol of well being and they show up in my world as confirmation of that quite frequently. I love this bright reminder that joy is a choice! Get it in the shop today! Continue reading →